A Long Lunch: My Stories and I'm Sticking to Them

Description

Simon Hoggart has long been admired as one of our leading commentators on modern life. His memoirs encompass his radio career, most notably as chair of the News Quiz, his life as a journalist and as an observer of the people he has met along the way. A Long Lunch is both funny and quirky, whilst also being full of wisdom and insight. During his career, Simon has met every British prime minister from Harold Macmillan onwards. His memoirs will divulge what Alan Clark thought about Melvyn Bragg, what really happened at the Lady Chatterley trial, what Cherie Blair said to Simon and how he riposted, how John Sergeant drove an air stewardess to a raging fury and much more. From drunken episodes behind the scenes at the House of Commons to unexpected meetings in TV green rooms, Simon Hoggart both entertains and delights.

Born in 1946, Simon Hoggart is the eldest child of the writer and academic Richard Hoggart. After Cambridge, he worked for the Guardian in Northern Ireland, Africa, and Westminster. He joined the Observer in 1991 as US correspondent, based in Washington, then returned to the UK to rejoin the political world. From 1996 to 2006 he chaired the News Quiz on Radio 4, and in 2001 became wine correspondent at the Spectator.

Very funny - Spectator Not a writer who bombards you with tales of his triumphs, but a shrewd watcher from the wings, with some great jokes and excellent stories and insights, especially about politicians - Sunday Telegraph Equally engaging if at a slightly more flippant level, is Simon Hoggart's A Long Lunch. Described by its author as 'in no way a life of me', it is still the best journalistic memoir since the late Alan Watkins A Short Walk Down Fleet Street of a decade ago - New Statesman, Books of the Year 'To say this is the perfect toilet book is intended as the highest praise . . . often funny and startling' - Independent